Brownsville BC — The pioneer settlement opposite the City of New Westminster

Dum Dums And Buns: The New Westminster Bridge Shootout

January 15, 2017

On December 21 1934, Vancouver bank robber and jail-breaker James Grant, accomplice John Garvey, and getaway-car driver William Riley, were captured by police on the Fraser River Bridge in a spectacular shootout.

The bullet-riddled car, windscreen shattered, tires a bit splashy, after running into a barrage of police fire on the Fraser River Bridge. White circlea indicate bullet holes.

Dangerous And Armed

James Grant, 23, had escaped custody in Vancouver on December 14 while awaiting trial for robbery with violence. On the lam he went on a hold-up spree that included robbing a bank in Vancouver.

Reports stated the men were armed with a .32 automatic pistol and a .38 revolver, and for more deadly impact:

“The bullets in their weapons had been converted into ‘dum dums.’”

Bridge Stake-Out

Learning that the three desperadoes would try and make a run for the United States border, police kept watch on the approach to the Fraser River Bridge.

The old bridge, now overshadowed by the Pattullo Bridge and used by trains only, formerly had an upper level deck roadway for vehicles and pedestrians.

Once they crossed the river, mounted the concrete pavement of the Pacific Highway, and opened her up, the motorcar would be making a 20-minute dash to the frontier.

About a dozen heavily armed police officers were involved in the stake-out organized by Chief Constable John Cameron of Vancouver and Chief Peter Bruce of the New Westminster police.

A plainclothes detective stationed at the north end of the bridge spotted the bandits’ car and immediately flashed a signal.

At the south end , the off-ramp was blocked with a car and a flank of officers armed with revolvers and sawed-off shotguns spread out alongside the roadway. (One report said both sides.)